Tanya’s Score: Good-and-a-half*
Rated: PG
Starring: Rue, Archie, Common
Plot: A young girl named Starr (Amendla Stenberg) is the sole witness of her childhood friend’s (Algee Smith) shooting by a police officer (Drew Starkey). Facing pressure from her family, friends and community, she struggles to do what’s right.
Tanya’s Verdict: Based on the young adult novel by the same name, this movie does a wonderful job (IMHO) of depicting the struggle faced by black people in North America. An early scene in the movie shows a father sitting his children down to have “the talk”. Not a sex talk, like you may think – but the talk on how to handle themselves when confronted by police officers so that they don’t get shot.
From the get-go this movie highlights the varied struggles faced by Starr – both internally and externally. She must behave one way in her neighbourhood, yet another when at school (a mostly white private school); she wants to do what is right yet is discouraged to do so by her family and community; she must defend her community time and again – to her school friends and to the public.
I’ve spoken to my kids about Black Lives Matter – what it is, what it means. I’ve told them about real situations that have occurred in society. Yet watching a movie like this one is a great way for them to actually understand the injustices happening right now all around us. Exposing them to a movie (and book) like The Hate U Give is a surefire way to begin teaching our children about compassion, empathy, racism and injustice. It’s also a surefire way to start a conversation with them on how to begin to combat these injustices.
My only complaint about this movie is that it runs a bit long and seems uneven at times.
*Four score descriptions: Sh**; Okay; Good; Great